Paddy’s At Capacity For Dennis? ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’ Returns With Character Out Of State

When It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for its 13th season on Wednesday, September 5, Glenn Howerton’s creepy Dennie Reynolds won’t be at his usual Paddy’s Pub stool or even in his video-equipped bedroom.

Here’s how FXX made the announcement of the show’s return: “The Gang Returns… mostly…. in the 13th season of the FXX original comedy series It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Frank (Danny DeVito) return to their duplicitous, scheming ways at Paddy’s Pub, while Dennis (Glenn Howerton) takes on the new role of father in North Dakota.”

When last seen, Howerton’s Dennis had told the gang that he was leaving to take part in the life of his newly discovered infant son. In real life, Howerton is now starring in NBC’s A.P. Bio, which has been renewed for a second season.

While the premiere date announcement suggested that Howerton remains with the Sunny cast, exactly how often Sunny fans will see the borderline sociopath is unclear, as are details of what, exactly, his interactions with the gang will entail.

More from the FXX announcement:

“Even without Dennis Reynolds, the Gang has its hands full as Charlie hopes to have a child with The Waitress, Mac sets out to understand his newfound sexuality, Dee takes feminism to new heights, and Frank goes to great lengths for the Gang to experience the greatest moment in Philadelphia sports history – an Eagles Super Bowl victory.”

Sunny fans have been scouring Twitter for weeks seeking clues. On June 19, Mindy Kaling tweeted a photo of herself on set “visiting” friends, leading to unconfirmed speculation that she’d land in front of the Sunny cameras.

A post shared by RobMcElhenney (@robmcelhenney) on Jun 15, 2018 at 9:50am PDT

Though some castmates – including Kaitlin Olson and Charlie Day – have suggested that Howerton would make occasional appearances on Sunny, Howerton himself has been much less committal.

3) Telling you whether or not Dennis is coming back would be giving away the plot of the next season. So… to clarify once and for all. I don’t know if Dennis is coming back. He left the bar. We take that plot choice seriously.

And as for McElhenney’s newly out Mac, he’s about as far from the “Fat Mac” of yore as North Dakota is from South Philly – Mac’s clearly embraced the buff body lifestyle of the out and proud. Here’s a widely tweeted photo of an off-the-clock actor and Sunny castmates Kaitlin Olson (McElhenney’s real-life wife), Artemis Pebdani, and Danny DeVito at the recent LA Gay Pride Parade. Whether the footage finds its way into a Sunny episode is anybody’s guess.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was created by McElhenney. He also serves as executive producer along with Charlie Day, Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel, Tom Lofaro, David Hornsby, and Megan Ganz. The show is produced by FX Productions.